The first challenge in compiling a list of tough jobs is defining what makes a job tough—and that, it turns out, is highly subjective.

Wherever there is hair on a person’s body, there’s a reason for removing it. Aesthetician Renee Ane has heard it all, seen it all and removed it all: bristly outcroppings from ears, noses and moles; thick fur on chests and backs and downy coats in nether regions. Ane’s clients—women and men, ages 18 to 80—pay to choose their torture of choice: waxing or electrolysis. The first involves painting hot wax on the targeted body part, placing a strip of muslin on top, and ripping. Electrolysis employs a needle-shaped electrode and takes longer, but it actually destroys hair roots, so they don’t grow back. “If you don’t mind going where the sun doesn’t shine,” says Ane, who’s been at it for 15 years, “it’s a really enjoyable job.” Reaching certain places can be awkward, except to her most flexible clients, who are dancers. Hair, it seems, is not the only thing this aesthetician pulls out of her clients; many also choose to share intimate details of their lives. If there’s anything about her job that makes Ane squeamish, it’s some of the stories she hears.